


as long as you're with me

by asexualrey



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Caretaking, Fluff, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-23
Updated: 2017-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-19 12:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9440498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asexualrey/pseuds/asexualrey
Summary: Lance wants to make the best of their layover. Keith's just sick and tired.





	

“I can’t believe we’re stuck here for four hours.” 

“Oh, stop complaining. It won’t be that bad.”

Lance barely hears the muttered, “Yes, it will,” behind him, and chooses to ignore it. Keith can be super pessimistic sometimes, and he’s just grumpy because he has the sniffles. It’s unfortunate timing, for sure, but Lance is sure it won’t put too much of a damper on their vacation. At this point, not even a four hour layover could ruin his mood. 

He wraps an arm around Keith’s shoulders and gives him a dopey grin. “The important thing is that we’re _together_.”

Keith huffs indignantly but presses himself a little closer regardless. “There’re too many people.”

Lance laughs. “It’s an airport, babe, and it’s Christmas. Everyone’s trying to get home.”

“I know.”

Lance frowns. He doesn’t want Keith to be down—he’s bringing him to meet his family for the first time, so he understandably wants his boyfriend to be as excited as he is, but right now he just seems gloomy and depressed. “How about we go get some hot chocolate?” 

Keith sniffs and drags his wrist under his nose. “Okay.”

Lance takes his hand and they make their way through the crowded terminal. They’re both dressed warmly in winter coats and scarves and Keith’s got on his favorite beanie (the one Lance gave him for his birthday last year), and they’re both hauling their school backpacks, although Keith is beginning to look like he’s wilting under the weight of his. 

Lance tries not to feel guilty. He’d been nagging Keith for so long about coming home with him for the holiday. He wanted him to meet is family and see his hometown, and it’s their junior year of college, so it’s really about time. He knows Keith isn’t fond of crowded, energized atmospheres, but he’s sure he’ll have a great time regardless. 

Or at least he _was._ This morning, the morning they were flying out, Keith woke up with a sore throat and a stuffy nose and Lance had loaded him up with medicine and orange juice, but it doesn’t seem to have helped yet. Keith hadn’t acted like he was feeling too bad earlier that morning, though, so Lance isn’t really worried. He’s just disappointed his boyfriend has to deal with a cold on top of all the holiday crowds—it’s been hell on his mood. Which only makes Lance more determined to make sure they have a great time together despite the layover. 

Keith waits over by a bench while Lance forces his way into the crowded cafe to get in line. It takes a while, but he buys two hot chocolates and a pastry to share and then battles his way out again. He finds Keith sitting on the bench, folded over on top of his backpack with his eyes closed. 

Lance’s brow furrows. He can hear him breathing through his mouth, apparently too congested to do it through his nose. His cheeks look a little flushed, too, now that Lance is looking closely.

He lays a hand on his shoulder. “Keith? You asleep?”

Keith lifts his head and blinks blearily, gaze unfocused and hair all mussed up from where his hat got pushed back. “Huh?”

Lance sits down beside him and starts fixing his hair. “I got the hot chocolate. You must be really tired if you fell asleep in the middle of all these people.”

“Mm.” Keith bats his hands away and tugs his beanie up. 

“You okay?”

“M’fine.” 

Lance frowns. His voice is raspier than it had been before. “How are you feeling?”

With a deep sigh, Keith sinks back until his head is resting against the wall. “I’ll be okay. Can I have my hot chocolate?”

Lance hands it over, and he can’t help but notice the way Keith’s hands shake a little as they take the cup from him, the way he shudders when he brings it close to his chest. Maybe he had underestimated this cold his boyfriend was coming down with. “Are you cold?”

“Yeah.” He raises the cup to his mouth and takes a hesitant sip. 

Well, that’s not good. Lance is sweating in his coat in the midst of all these bodies, and he knows that Keith runs warmer than he does. 

He chews his lip and thumbs the tab on his drink absentmindedly, thinking about the best course of action. They’ve packed a little cold medicine, but there’s a convenience shop down the hall that he could check out too.

Keith sinks down a little further on the bench, mouth disappearing behind the folds of his scarf, and coughs wetly. Lance reaches out to press his palm against the ailing boy’s forehead and blinks in surprise when he’s met with an intense, dry heat. He’s pretty sure colds usually don’t warrant a fever this high.

Keith gives him an odd look when Lance doesn’t remove his hand. “You feel really warm,” he explains. “Seriously, how are you feeling?”

The dark haired boy sighs and sniffles pitifully. “Worse than this morning. I’m achy and my head hurts and it’s fucking freezing in here.”

Lance frowns. “Let’s go get settled at the gate and I’ll go see if I can find you some medicine.”

“I _have_ medicine.”

“Yeah, _Airborne_. You need something for your fever. Besides,” Lance says, moving his palm down to Keith’s cheek, “I’m not sure this is just a cold anymore.”

Keith lets out a soft, stopped-up groan. “Okay.”

Lance takes Keith’s backpack and shoulders it before helping him slowly to his feet. When he’s standing, he coughs again—small, choked noises that sound like he needs to hack up the gunk in his lungs but lacks the strength to put the force into them to get it out. Lance’s face softens in sympathy and he rubs his back before they start towards their gate. 

Keith sticks closely to Lance’s side while they walk, holding his cup close to his face and stifling coughs and sniffles in his scarf (which Lance mentally notes to throw in the washer as soon as they get to his house). There’s a nice, quiet corner open by the window with an outlet, so Lance makes sure Keith gets comfortable in one of the chairs with his laptop before kissing his too-warm forehead and venturing out into the terminal again. 

The shop is a five minute walk away from their gate, but he power-walks and makes it in three. The medicine shelves are off to the side by the register. Lance plants his hands on his hips and scans the selection quickly with his eyes. There isn’t as much as he thought there would be. 

He picks up and bottle of Tylenol and a box of DayQuil to compare, but they both look good to him so he decides to buy both. He also gets a thermometer, a box of fever patches with Disney designs on them, tissues, some instant soup, and a cheap fleece blanket patterned with plaid. They might be stuck in an airport, but he’s going to make sure Keith gets as much care as he can give him. He really, _really_ wants him to be well to enjoy time with the family.

The cashier looks surprised when he dumps it all on the counter. 

“My boyfriend is tragically ill,” Lance explains with a forlorn sigh and more melodrama than is required. “I’m desperately trying to nurse him back to health.”

The girl behind the register gives a small laugh as she bags his purchases and rings up the total. “Ah. Well, I hope he feels better soon.”

Lance gives the girl a humble smile and a nod. “I’m sure your well-wishes will go a long way in his recovery.” Then he pockets his wallet and takes the bag, backing up toward the exit. “Merry Christmas!”

The cashier returns the sentiment with a wave and a raised eyebrow and Lance is out the door, picking up his pace until he’s nearly sprinting down the terminal, dodging pedestrians and luggage carts. 

He finds Keith exactly how he left him, except he’s stowed his laptop and fallen asleep again. Even in his sleep he looks grumpy, slumped down in the seat with his arms folded and head lowered. He’s pulled his hood up over his head, beanie and all. Lance can tell he’s still shivering. 

With a soft smile, he begins to unload the bag. He pulls the tags off the blanket and spreads it over the ill boy, carefully tucking it in around his shoulders and sides. 

Keith’s eyes flutter open groggily. “Lance…? What’re you doin’?”

“Got you some stuff.” He tears open the packaging on the thermometer and turns it on. “Open up, babe.”

Keith complies and lets Lance settle the instrument under his tongue. He gives a few closed-mouth coughs, obviously trying his best to suppress them.

Lance hums sympathetically and brushes back a piece of black hair that had fallen between his eyes. “Poor Keith. I’m sorry you don’t feel well.”

His boyfriend only grunts. 

The thermometer beeps seconds later and Lance takes it out. He frowns deeply at the reading. “102.8 .  Looks like you got the flu or somethin.’” 

Keith lets out a long, miserable groan and lets his head fall back on the seat. “M’sorry, Lance. I don’t wanna be sick for vacation.”

“It’s not your fault.” Lance rubs his shoulder soothingly. He won’t deny that he’s pretty disappointed. He had a lot of plans for their vacation together in his hometown, and now it looks like Keith will be spending most of it laid up in bed. But, ever the optimist, he doesn’t dwell on the things they’ll miss out on. “Now I’ll just have to take extra good care of you. And you’ll get to eat my mama’s special soup. There’s hardly any downsides for you, really. My family’s the _best_ at taking care of sick people.”

Keith tips over until his head is resting on Lance’s shoulder. “I don’t want to be all miserable and snotty when I meet them for the first time, though.”

“They’ll love you anyway. Don’t worry, everything’ll be fine. We’ll have a great time. I promise.”

“F’you say so.” 

“I do. Now, sit up. You need to take your medicine.”

With a little grumbling, Keith gets mostly upright again and lets Lance feed him pills and water. When Lance pulls out the box of fever patches, he gets a skeptical look on his face. “Did you buy me…Disney gel sheets?” 

“Yep.” Lance opens the box. “Take off your hat.”

“I’m not using those things.”

“Uh, yes you are.”

“Lance, no I’m not.”

“Keith. Your fever’s crazy high. This is gonna make you feel better.”

“I’ll look ridiculous.”

“Who cares? You don’t know any of these people, and you’re sick. You’ll feel a lot better if we can get your fever down. Don’t be so stubborn.” He pulls out a patch. “Hey, look! This one’s got Pluto on it.”

Keith heaves weary sigh. “Okay, _fine_. But you’re not allowed to take any pictures.” He pulls off his hood and beanie and moves his hair aside. 

“Deal.” Lance smoothes the patch on Keith’s hot forehead and combs his bangs back into place. “You wanna eat something? I got some soup.” 

Keith coughs, a crackling noise coming from deep in his chest. “Not hungry.”

“We can save it for later, then. Um…” He looks around, trying to think of other things he can do to make Keith comfortable. His eyes land on the laptop. “Wanna watch a movie?”

The sick boy shrugs. “Sure, I guess.”

After a bit of shuffling, Lance convinces Keith to get settled down on the floor against the wall. He puts his neck pillow around his shoulders and covers him with the blanket again. Keith’s cheeks redden past the fever-blush from the close care and attention Lance is showering on him, but he doesn’t resist any efforts. Maybe he’s really feeling that poorly, or maybe fevers make him sappier than normal. Either way, Lance isn’t complaining. 

Keith slumps against him when they get the laptop set up and School of Rock starts playing. Lance already knows Keith won’t stay awake through the whole movie, but that’s not a bad thing. He needs all the rest he can get before they board their flight. 

He plants a kiss on the top of his boyfriend’s head. This really isn’t so bad. They might be stuck in an airport for four hours with Keith conveniently coming down with the flu, but at least they’re together. They’ll be at home with his family before the day is out, and they’ll enjoy their very first Christmas together. Lance will be happier when Keith starts feeling better, but he really doesn’t have much to complain about. 

He feels Keith’s soft, even breathing against him and lays his cheek against the top of his head. He’s sure this will be the best Christmas ever. 


End file.
